Gelert is said to have belonged to Llywelyn the Great, who was a Prince of Gwynedd. The dog was a gift from King John of England. In the legend, Llywelyn returns from hunting to find his baby's cradle overturned, the baby missing and Gelert with blood around its mouth. Llywelyn immediately thinks that Gelert has savaged his son, so Llywelyn draws his sword and kills the dog, which lets out a final dying yelp. He then hears the cries of his son and finds it unharmed under the cradle and blankets, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is overcome with remorse and he buries the dog with great ceremony, but is haunted by Gelert’s dying yelp.

After that day it is said Llywelyn never smiled again. It is believed that the story of Gelert is a variation on the renowned "Faithful Hound" folk-tale motif, which lives on as an urban legend. Some believe that it was invented by a man named David Pritchard, an 18th century hotelier, to drum up business.

The hotel is reputedly haunted by it’s founder - and alleged creator of the Gelert legend - David Pritchard (which we think quite ironic)! His ghost was seen in the stables, and lanes around the hotel. On one occasion he was approached by a former employee and the apparition informed him where to find treasure, which he then did.

The ghost of a certain Lady Prendergrast supposedly haunted the area of Gwernydd. In life she was the Maid of Honour to Caroline, who was the Queen of George II. However, she wasted her personal wealth on such frivolous activities such as gambling, and died in poverty. Her ghost was reported riding on horseback, and at other times seen in the carriage of a coach and four in the lanes around Gwernydd. Her ghost was said to have the aroma of sulphur.

The Aberglaslyn Pass is quite a spookily congested area, with reports of a number of apparitions. These include a phantom horseman, a “figure of fire”, one of the renowned Welsh Dogs of Darkness and a White Lady.

A phantom carriage and horses was reported in the area pre-1899, which was said to be a premonition of an incident where a mortally ill man was brought to the Bettws Hotel.

The area of Llan Trwsgl, which lies a couple of miles outside Beddgelert, was said to be haunted by the ghost of a female, and her appearance has been described as “a beautiful young woman rising out of the pool half-naked, her dripping hair hanging down her white shoulders”. In life, her husband-to-be murdered her, because he did not have the courage to tell her he had fallen for someone else. Other ghostly forms seen around this spot were a “stately maid... Clad in rustling silk”, and a ball or wheel of fire. Screams and cries were also reported, which were said to be of the unfortunate victim.

During the early 19th century, Hafod Lwyfog - a mansion nestled in the middle of the picture of the Gwynant Valley - was troubled by poltergeist activity. Phenomena included various loud noises, and the lifting of servant’s beds. The poltergeist was eventually “defeated” and cast to the bottom of Llyn Gwynant.

Plas Gwynant is a house similar to Hafod Lwyfog, and not to far from it. It was supposedly haunted by phantom footsteps, knocks on the doors and candles blown out. An apparition was witnessed by a young woman during the 19th century, and the experience allegedly left her so shaken she died a few months later.

Erw Farm was once the scene of some sort of demonic apparition, which was confronted and defeated by an unnamed exorcist.